An excellent find: "Kenmore" Hoover Ranger!

[broomvac]

Hello fellow vacuum fans,

Today I ventured to the thrift shop (the same one I shared here in an earlier thread) that is known for having a pretty intense selection of vintage vacuums. To my surprise, I left with a very promising Kenmore branded Hoover Ranger!

This was a pretty bold move for me. For years, I've been somewhat of a Sanitaire snob. Why should I take up valuable space in my vacuum closet with a Hoover Convertible, which is close enough to my S661 except inferior, right? Right?

So, I've resisted every Hoover Convertible/Decade that crossed my path. But, today, that broke. I spotted a "Hoover Ranger" in excellent shape and bought it because I thought it might be valuable. I wasn't entirely sure about the rarity of a Ranger, but I was pretty sure they are hard to come by in the United States.

So, the thing came home with me. Taking it out of the dark store revealed that this cleaner is in pretty incredible shape. It also revealed that...it's a KENMORE! Truth is, I hadn't even noticed that this was a Kenmore until I flipped it over and spotted "Sears, Roebuck and Co." on the ID sticker. My bad.

Only light scuffing on the hood. Long bristle strips. Nice bag. No cord damage. All decals intact and unharmed. In fact, the only thing wrong with is that the bag zipper pull tab is missing! The cleaner is in as-found condition in the pictures below; I hadn't even wiped the dust off it.

I hoped its motor would sound OK when I turned it on. Not to my surprise, I discovered the belt was broken. But, to my surprise, the motor sounded truly healthy! I swear it took 100 years to wind down. I actually got older waiting for it to stop. But, the moment I heard the famous Convertible hum, I decided that this machine was here to stay. Looks like I need to whet my appetite for a good helping of eating my own words.

Expect posts (hopefully before too long, although it may have to wait until Thanksgiving week) showing the restoration of this lovely Kenmore. I can't wait to get this cleaner looking like new again. Its hood should polish flawlessly.

broomvac

tl;dr I accidentally bought a Kenmore thinking it was a Hoover. Then I actually liked it.

 

[broomvac]

Top-Fill Bag

I was very pleased to discover that not only does this machine utilize a top-fill bag system, but that it uses the "press-on" type fill tube instead of the "slide-on" type adapter. You can bet a Genuine Hoover sythetic "cloth" HEPA type A bag is going to be fitted to this vacuum when I'm done spiffing it up!

 

[broomvac]

I actually lol'd a bit when I discovered that it matches my Kenmore Progressive! Coincidence?

 

[broomvac]

You can bet there will be a vacuum throwdown between these two.

 

[broomvac]

Anyways, I hope you all enjoyed the pictures and the humor. Let me know what you think and please do pass on to me any wisdom you have for me about this sweeper. Thanks!

broomvac

 

[fantomfan57]

THanks for sharing!

Keep those post and pictures coming!

 

[TheSpiritOf76]

The story I was told long ago is....

That there was short window of time at one point, where Sears had no one to produce their Kenmore vacuum cleaners. It was a battle between Whirlpool leaving and Panasonic coming. So Hoover filled the short term void with the uprights, and Eureka handled the canisters. I didn't believe the part about Eureka, till one day I saw a orange Eureka Roto-Matic Power head on Craigslist with the Kenmore name on it.


 


In its entirety I don't know how much of it was correctly relayed to me. I really don't know. I am just telling what I was told.

 

[panasonicvac]

Very nice! This is one of my favorite Kenmore vacuum cleaners of all time! I would love to find one of these one day.

 

[gj3476]

Holy cow! I didn't know Kenmore made their version of the Hoover Convertible back then, I think I have its twin brother or sister, but anyways maybe they're will be a throwdown between the 2 lol.

 

[kirbyvertibles]

These were around about 1988 or so. very cool

 

[fan-of-fans]

I never knew the Kenmore name was ever on a Convertible, although I have seen a PowerDrive/Elite branded Kenmore.

Sears did sell some Hoover uprights in the early 90s such as the Heavy Duty and High Performance models.

http://s13.photobucket.com/user/farrini/media/sears926.jpg.html

 

[gj3476]

Fan of fans, I love that gray eureka widetrack, it looks awesome!

 

[broomvac]

Thanks for the kind responses, all!

I'm glad I was able to share this vacuum with you all!

I just could NOT help myself. I have begun the resto.

I'm a bit disappointed in myself for not taking more "before shots," but it's too late now! You'll just have to check out the pictures above to see the difference. The only other "before" shot I have is the first one below, showing the hood removed from the base of the Kenmore.

Anyways, the restoration is going very smoothly. Thankfully, nothing about this cleaner was broken or required replacement (except the zipper pull). This is a one-in-a-million occurrence; almost every cleaner I have restored required at least one part replaced because the previous owner broke/wore it out. I get the feeling this is a low mileage unit.

It turns out the hood of this cleaner was hiding a motor in fantastic shape. Not only does it sound nice, but it looks great too! Every one of the scuffs came out of the hood. The bag fill tube turned out spotless. The plastic parts came hot out of the dishwasher looking very fresh. All is coming along well. This one is gonna be a looker!

Enjoy the pictures and let me know what you think. Expect shots of the machine running in the coming days. I have 3 genuine Hoover belts getting one-day shipped, so I should be able to get this thing going again as soon as tomorrow.

Thanks!

broomvac

 

[broomvac]

fantomfan57--Thanks! Don't worry, there will be more!

TheSpiritOf76--I appreciate the info about this vacuum's origin. At least now we have proof that such a thing actually exists!

panasonicvac--Thanks! If I ever decide to part ways with it, I'll likely post here first.

Gj3476--Very nice Hoover! That one does indeed appear to be the sibling of the one I found, except without the confused branding lol. I notice yours has a window to see the height setting--mine has only a blue blank plate. The height settings for my cleaner are printed on the hood near the pedal. It has 4 settings--Shag, High, Normal, and Low, I believe.

kirbyvertibles--Are you psychic or did you read the tag? This one was built in August of 1988, so you were on the money.

fan-of-fans--I would love to have the Heavy Duty, Wide Track, and Legacy shown in that catalog. Especially the Legacy!

broomvac

 

[broomvac]

Restoration complete!

Alright, I'll just let the pictures speak for themselves. Each is a "before" shot followed by an "after" shot. This Kenmore came out super!

 

[broomvac]

More shots of the final product! The headlight is so bright that my camera can hardly handle it. And as promised, a genuine Hoover HEPA cloth bag and a genuine Hoover Convertible belt for the vacuum.

 

[broomvac]

Hoovers!

I think I've finally found something that actually makes the Concept I seem modern, even though I'm pretty sure my Kenmore is actually newer.

 

[broomvac]

The verdict.

So, which is better?

I hate to be horrible, but I still prefer the Sanitaire, although it was a closer contest than I had predicted. Just from feel and my "vacuum intuition," I get the feeling the Sanitaire still slightly outcleans the Kenmore convertible, both in agitation and airflow. The Sanitaire's extra 2 amps and additional fan blades likely make the difference. Still, the Kenmore is pretty awesome! It's a close enough match that I should put down some sand to see if I can spot a difference.

Believe it or not, I've used a Convertible only once before; it was a Convertible model 69 and wasn't mine. This Kenmore feels about the same from what I remember about that Hoover.

All in all, I'm happy with my first "Convertible."

broomvac

 

[durango159]

Excellent Find!

That's a great unit. I have a High Performance Convertible model. I'm sure you love yours